As you can tell from the Zebralight review I recently posted, I think production flashlights have been going in the wrong direction for a while now. They are not great. Most have swelled to use the 18650 cell making them all but unpocketable for non-EDCers (we have a mental illness that makes us think that things like the Espada XL or some of the new Maxace knives are “pocketable”). They prioritize lumens over runtime and color rendering. And they have confounding UIs. The market is brimming with quantity over quality. The line between lights you find at the Big Box stores and those found on enthusiast sites is shrinking every day.

As this is happening, we have serious stagnation in the line up of legacy makers. Surefire hasn’t released a new interesting light in ages, instead slightly tweaking old lights or redesigning their body tubes. Faced with an onslaught of competition that is cheaper and brighter, the legacy makers have chosen to ignore the enthusiast market.

These are grim days in the flashlight world.

Of course there are a few production light makers that are holding the line. Zebralight, for example, still makes a few smaller lights. FourSevens steadfastly refuses to go down the “lightning storm mode” route. HDS is cranking out good lights, though I’d like to see an infusion of new emitters. You can hunt and peck and find a nice Acebeam, like the TK17, if you really try. But one of the best and most consistent companies over the past few years is Reylight. They make simple, small, bright lights and they make them well. The Mini Pineapple was one of my favorite lights (so much so that I gave it to my brother in law when he had a baby—a good flashlight is a must for a new baby). The LAN was excellent. So when Reylight announced they were do a collab with Vosteed, I was intrigued. When they sent me a review sample of the Rook, I was more intrigued. Is it possible to buck the trends of the flashlight world and ignore “turbo” highs in favor of actual quality?

Here is the product page. The XXXX costs $XXXX. Here is a written review. Here is a video review.

Finally, here is my review sample:

Quick Review Summary: Best click CR123a available.

Design: 2

This is a pretty basic design for a triple, but there is nothing wrong with that. Some crenellations on tail give the light its name. Overall the design is a bit busy, but nothing obnoxious. If the tritium came installed, I think the overall look and feel would be different—the slots would seem to have an overt purpose as opposed to being decorative. I am not a huge fan of the pocket clip, but more on that later. As a design, the Rook is not as utilitarian as something like the HDS Rotary, but it is also not a gilled and slitted faux saber.

Fit and Finish: 2

Nice threads and very consistent machining make for a great light. Reylight has always been good at making tubes and the Rook is no different. It is substantially more complex than many of their main line torchs, but it is still a step down from something like a Haiku or, dare I say it, the Spy 007. I am still blown away by that light’s complexity.

Grip: 2

With a stout and compact body, the Rook is excellent in the hand, giving you just enough to hold on to that you don’t have that Andre-the-Giant-holding-a-beer-can feel. I love the hourglass and even though it is a bit busier than most hourglass tubes, it is still there and, of course, still works.

Carry: 1

As I wrote in the Zebralight reivew we are in a different age. Reylight’s Mini Pineapple, a tiny 1xAAA clicky hits 500 lumens now. That’s not a lot compared to this light’s 1800 lumens, but it is enough to do most tasks. That light slips into a coin or shirt pocket with ease. This is not as easy to tuck away and go. Hence the penalty. I am also not thrilled with the extra broad clip. I know this is a trend in knife clips and I hate it there too. I don’t like advertising that I am carrying something at all.

That said, this is as small as you will find for this battery format and activation type. Even the hallowed BOSS 35 isn’t much smaller. This is not the last time you will hear about the BOSS 35.

Output: 2

Most lights these days have output charts that look like Half Dome in profile. Not the Rook. This light can HOLD 1800 lumens for 1.2 hours. Now, of course, this is purely theoretical. It also has a thermal detector that steps down output once the light reaches a roasty 55 Celsius (or 131 Fahrenheit). So while the emitters can hold 1800 lumens for 1.2 hours, your hands likely can’t. Still, this isn’t a 90 second turbo that drops down to a sad “high” after that. In case you thought this was a brute force dumb dumb light it also has a moonlight of .7 lumens, giving you coverage at both ends of the spectrum. This is what the ouput of all modern lights should look like.

Runtime: 2

There is some programming wizardary going on here, as the turbo runtime is GREAT, but the moonlight low is not in the same league. The Zebralight can run for WEEKS on low, but this light can “only” go 7 days. Its strange that that is the case, but I like the the high a lot and the low is decent. My guess is this is an array designed for max output and they do something on the chip to get the lows. Its a compromise, as is all design. In this case, it is a compromise I would choose to make the same way.

Beam Type: 2

This is a TIR triple, so its not a “hit the other side of the mountain” thrower, but with 1800 OTF lumens for 1.2 hours, this set up can use pure horsepower to throw light. With even a smidge less firepower I would not be giving this light, or those like it, a 2 anymore. Real reflectors are just better, but here the difference is subsumed in by a wall of photons.

Beam Quality: 2

Thanks to some excellent machining and precision optics, the Rook is quite good. Triples tend to artifact more and they ALL artifact close up, but this light has the bare minimum artifacting. It also has a pleasant, Hi CRI output, so reds look red, etc.

UI: 2

Blessed be the makers, its a straightforward UI. No double or triple clicks, no insane Morse-code like press, hold, half press baloney. There is no lightning storm mode, no secondary LEDs, no strobe, just light in varying outputs, each of which is useful for different tasks. Imagine that—a light focused on utility.

Hands Free: 2

Tailstands, doesn’t roll off, and in a pinch can be held in the mouth, the Rook hits all the high spots.

Other Considerations

Fidget Factor: High

With a nice clicky and a great in-hand feel to the machining this is a light that you will play with in traffic.

Fett Effect: Moderate

I suppose the ano will wear off, but really only the clip will show age through scuffing.

Value: High

For the performance and the machining, this is a truly great buy at the price. But then again it is a Reylight—they are all great values.

Overall Score: 19 of 20

As good as clickies get these days, the Vosteed x Reylight Rook is a powerhouse pocket rocket that embarasses the competition with a simple UI, top shelf performance, an excellent design, and a diminutive size. There are a lot of lights out there. Most stink for EDC as the market has become infatuated with gimmicks and stupid features. This isn’t one of them. It makes me hopeful that not all is lost and that the flashlight market has simply gone on a detour for a while. Reylight proves, again, why they are one of the best light makers in the world circa 2023.

Competition

Analyzing the Rook in comparison to its competition, you quickly realize why, circa 2023, it is probably the best clicky CR123a light on the market. If you like this battery format there is a lot of good competition. The aforementioned TK17 is out there, but I like the clip on the Rook better. The new generation of Malkoff lights are excellent and offer a slew of good features, but aren’t as bright.

The light that I kept coming back to over and over again is the BOSS 35. This is one of the very best lights ever made and one of the best lights on the market even years after its release. Its compact frame, insane output, and chef’s kiss UI make it one of my very favorite lights even now. And the Rook is basically an affordable, readily available version of that light. The size, battery format, output, emitter/optic…they are all there. Even the clip is similarly excellent. I love the BOSS 35 and I love this light too.

Amazon Links

Acebeam TK17